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Ticino – Galbisio, sector Movenpick: a very handy crag

With a few hours to kill before our ferry from Patras we decided to check out the Kykao microbrewery on the edge of town. We’d consumed vast quantities of their very authentic American style IPAs at the Panjika bar in Leonidio,

… and it seemed too good an opportunity to miss to visit the guys who are “Stirring up the Greek Beer Scene!” It was great to meet the team behind this ambitious project,

… and really interesting to taste some of the brews which were currently in the works.

Needless to say, we couldn’t leave without a couple of cases of the good stuff, and we look forward to tasting the range of Saison Beers we swapped for some of our favourite beer from The Vocation Brewery near home. Cheers / Yamas!

Fast forward 48 hours and we’ve been whisked to Ancona on a very comfortable SuperFast Ferry, spent a night in San Marino and zoomed across Italy to arrive in southern Switzerland at around 3pm. It’s cracking the flags, there’s rock everywhere, and we decide to squeeze in a couple of routes.

Galbisio is very handily located – it’s about 100m from the A2 Autostrada that links Milan to the Gottard Pass / Tunnel. The roadside sector Movenpick (named after the supermarket immediately beneath the crag) is the ultimate urban climbing experience, but the routes are surprisingly good. There’s even a free topo you can download:

The rock is Gneiss / Granite, and I rather expected that a couple of months cranking 7as on tufa would bear scant rewards when faced with the smeary stuff. Sure enough, the couple of 6a/+s we did felt nails!

A Pata Verta:

… and Senza Nome (obviously a classic!)

Anyway, rat fed, it’s time to head for Camping Isola, just up the road, and the good news is that the on-site pizzeria is open.